I had fun this past Sunday working through the story-line of the Bible in light of the themes and trajectory of the Gospel according to John. If you missed it, you can listen to it here.

When I was at WWC, I learned so much about the story-line of the Old Testament from Mark Jalovick. A number of us have been exposed to Mark J.’s “Embracing the Story” class or were recipients of a sermon series Hayward Wesleyan did a while back by the same name: Embracing the Story. While I was a student, Mark J. gave me a great framework for how to understand the content in the Old Testament. Kind of like a house with a foundation and all the framing that make up the outer and inner walls and the roof. When I went on to Multnomah University in Portland to finish up my bachelor’s degree, all the instruction about theology and the Bible had a “place to go” in the house because of what I learned from Mark J. Kind of like the sheet-rock and flooring and roofing materials and trim and paint and cabinets were added to the furnishing of the house the more I learned theology and Scripture.

When I graduated from Multnomah, I felt like I had a functioning house related the content and trajectory of the Old Testament. I didn’t, though, have something similar with the New Testament. Enter NT Wright. Thanks to Steve Gerich and Wright’s lectures on Jesus and the Kingdom of God as well as Paul and the Faith of Israel (both classes Wright taught at Regent College a long time ago), I was given another framework to work with and furnish with the New Testament.

I’m sure Mark Jalovick would love to hear that in my mind he is on par with NT Wright, but in regard to teaching me the overarching story-line of the Old Testament and the New Testament, both of these men and their influence have been huge on me (and by extension, impactful on the children and youth through hwcYouth).

Which leads me to the next resource: Tim Mackie. Tim is a graduate of Multnomah University where I went to school. Tim went on to do some graduate and post-graduate work. He received his Ph’D from University of Wisconsin in Madison on Hebrew Studies. He’s super smart! Tim now pastors in Portland at a church called Door of Hope and teaches at Western Seminary. Tim describes himself this way:

“My greatest passion and privilege is to help people grasp the beautiful and compelling story of the ancient Scriptures and how they lead us to Jesus of Nazareth.”

All over Tim’s personal website, timmackie.com, is great content about the Scriptures. Here are a couple of my favorite:

Lately I have been listening to the messages from Door of Hope on their series through Matthew. Tim teaches about half of the sermons while another pastor named Josh White teaches the other half.

This morning I listened to Tim’s message on Matthew 4:12-25 called “Jesus and the Kingdom of God.” Tim does a great job setting the longing for God’s kingdom and Jesus’ proclamation of it in light of the story-line of Scripture (much like how we did it this past Sunday).

About Jeremy Mavis

I am a pastor who specializes in working with children, youth and their families. I enjoy teaching about the God revealed in the Scriptures and sharing experiences and resources related to ministry, parenting, technology, and theology.

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